Lower back pain is very common in humans and is frequently caused by misalignment between of one or more vertebrae with the pelvis. Current devices aimed at alleviating lower back pain consist of belts that hug the body around the lower back and abdomen therein pulling the back anteriorly toward the abdomen to provide the required support. For example, lower back supports comprising belts that circle the abdomen and press one or more lumbar vertebra anteriorly are known. By pressing the lumbar vertebra anteriorly, the vertebra is encouraged to properly align with the pelvis. By properly aligning the vertebrae with the pelvis, lower back pain is reduced. Examples of lower back supports comprising belts are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,086,759 to Buddingh, U.S. Pat. No. 7,364,558 to Weaver, U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,074 to Okada and U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,085 to Leighton.
Although these prior art belts provide lower back support they are not amendable to full and active daily use as they reduce mobility of a user. Reduced mobility is prevalent in lower back support belts according to the prior art as they must surround or hug the lower torso; therein fully hugging the lower back and abdominal sections of the user. Fully surrounding the lower torso places undue pressure on the enclosed soft tissue, for example the abdomen. Therefore while aiming to alleviate lower back pain, pressure is exerted on the abdomen which may cause some discomfort. Furthermore, current pelvic belts comprise an abdominal closure reducing comfort over the closure itself, in part leading to the abdominal pressure experienced with such belts.
Additionally current lower back support belts are not automatically or self adjusted to accommodate varying and changing daily activity, therein only providing a single set pressure determined when fitting the belt. Therefore, current support belts do not allow a user to be sufficiently active while wearing the belt. For example, varying activity such as sitting, standing, in transitional stages, walking, picking up a child or playing golf all require varying pelvic postures that are not accommodated for by current lower back support belts as the belt does not adjust itself to provide the appropriate support for the new posture assumed by the user.